New owner of a 78 coupe

[grantf]

Cool keep us posted on how it's coming along. The EFI system seems confusing at first but as you work out the bugs all the mystery peices will fall into place.

[Bojanglez280]

Appreciate all the comments. I will keep everyone up to date on the long project as I go. I will not make as quick of progress as does everyone else. I am a solo income marriage as my wife is in doctorate school (not cheap), so I kind of have to pick and choose my purchases on a monthly basis. O yeah, and I am a school teacher. We are known for making LOTS of $$$.....

[Bojanglez280]

Alright, what we did today.

1) Pour'd some gas into the tank to be able to drain it and see if any rust came out. To my surprise very little chips came out. The bad news was in filling the tank, I discovered that the PO did a silicone patch over a leak which apparently did not fix the problem. There will need to be some work done on the tank.

2) New fusible links were installed and i now have power inside the car. GOOD NEWS!

3) Due to the "original key" having cracks and showing signs of breaking in half, I had a new key made. Not an original but it provides peace of mind that it will not break off in the ignition.

4) Bled the clutch system. We got about a cup full of black thick nasty fluid out of the system. However, the clutch still has no pressure at all. Not sure where to start......master cylinder is my initial thought thanks to some other threads having similar situations. After that if the problem still exists I would look into the slave cylinder as well. There are no evident leaks from the exterior of the slave of master, however there is a "slushy/squishing" type sound that comes from the master cylinder when the clutch is pressed.

Thanks for reading and as always, feedback is looked forward to and appreciated.

Jamie

[LeonV]

If the car was sitting for a long time, there is a good chance that the seals in your master (and probably slave) have dried up and no longer work properly. I'd replace/rebuild the master along with the slave. Do the same for the brake system.

[Bojanglez280]

I figured that was the case, but was not for certain. Would it be better suited to replace both slave and master cylinders? If not, where can I get a good rebuild kit. There are two offered by O'Reilys. One does not have the replacement piston and one does.

[Bojanglez280]

Autozone has a clutch master cylinder rebuild kit, made by Duralast (with piston, circlip, boot, and spring) for $15.99. The slave cylinder kit comes with piston, spring, and boot for $13.99. Would these be worth the purchase? It is cheaper than MSA's $29 slave and $71 master.

[5thhorsemann]

I put the duralast kits in my front & rear brakes, Brake and clutch M/C's and clutch slave cylinders with no issues, go for it.

[Bojanglez280]

I appreciate it...

Jamie

[Bojanglez280]

Update: Last night I purchased NGK Plugs ($2 each), NGK Wires ($23 set), and a new air filter ($7). Now I just need to wait for them to come in. I talked with my father in law tonight, who is a retired mechanic, and asked his advice on the leak in the gas tank. His advice was to try and find another tank. I love his advice, however I get on here and see people repairing tanks left and right. I feel like since I have a tank to work with what do I have to lose in trying to fix it, compared to giving up already and dropping who knows how much on a new tank. I hate being a novice in so many ways, but love the process of learning all the Z tricks and trades.

I will be placing my order for new clutch master cylinder and slave cylinder tomorrow. I will also will be ordering my upper/lower radiator hoses and the replacement heater hoses. Wish me luck as all of this comes in and goes on!

Jamie

[Bojanglez280]

Here are two pictures of the gas tank as it is. Have not messed with it yet to know if it is silicone, JB Weld, or whatever it may be....

[5thhorsemann]

You can drop the tank and cut out the repair (be sure to put a garden hose in it and fill it /flush it with water to dislace any gas vapor first) inspect the inside and address any problems. Then weld in a patch and etch and seal the inside. Then you will at least know what you have is solid.

[Bojanglez280]

That was my thinking on it, but he thought otherwise. I'm thinking I am going against his advice on this one and dropping and repairing the tank instead. Not sure when I will get around to it, but that's the direction I will be going. Plus, taking it off will make it much easier to replace hoses and clean up down there etc...

Thanks for the input,

Jamie